VENEZIA!

This visit to Venice was so incredibly lovely, probably because it was calm, relaxed, and still incredibly stimulating and special as only Venice can be. I did not go anywhere near San Marco, I avoided the tourist traps (unless you consider the Peggy Guggenheim Collection a tourist trap -- maybe a certain kind of tourist?), and instead focused on being there during the Biennale (!) and caught up on the best of the best of contemporary art and also took a trip out (off the map, nearly) to the Giudecca and Torcello. A quick run through the Accademia kept me grounded.

The lagoon, when the sun is so bright that the colors are unbelievable.

At night, the water is like glass.

This is an amazing piece of Italian engineering. It's a pulley system for hanging your laundry over the bathtub sans static rack, but rather these stringy pole things. High ceilings are a must.

On the way out to Torcello, on a ruined island in the Lagoon. There was a beautiful bird, and then there were birds on Torcello, too. It was nice to hear birds and see them enjoy the water, which is a healthy sign.

A Best General View of the Basilica of S. Maria Assunta on Torcello. The mosaics in there complement Ravenna perfectly. Later Byzantine mosaics uber alles!

A garden on Torcello.

As usual, I met a super cool artist (actually, quite a few, but some in particular) right before I had to go, which meant that the meeting was cut entirely too short. In one case, he was a typically charming Italian, who actually just presented a painting to the Vatican Museum 2 weeks ago, and said that the current pope is actually a very warm and nice individual. So, maybe I'll rethink my stance or modify it a bit. I've got his card, and would definitely pay a studio visit again -- this one happened by chance, and the fact that it did amazes me. The studio is stuffed to the brink of health hazard with layers of dust and paper, with recent paintings (referred to as svedute) perched on top of these layers of dust and paper. It was a little harrowing, but definitely a wonderful time.

I cut my trip to the airport way too short, thank God the plane was delayed 1/2 hour.